Grand Circle Road Trip

Bryce Canyon: Hoodoos and One Long Road

A first look at Bryce Canyon National Park, where it sits in Utah, and how the roads and airports get you there.

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Drives Between Parks
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Visit Utah describes Bryce Canyon National Park as an alpine forest with as many red rock hoodoos as trees.

What is Bryce Canyon National Park?

The Bryce Amphitheater is along the first 3 miles of the park's main road.

Where is Bryce Canyon National Park?

Visit Utah lists Bryce as the town for Bryce Canyon National Park. The visitor center sits 1 mile inside the park boundary, at an elevation of 7,894 feet.

How to get to Bryce Canyon National Park

Drivers reach the park from the north on I-15, UT-20, US-89, UT-12 and UT-63. From the south, the route runs on UT-9 east through Zion National Park to US-89. A third option leaves I-15 at exit 59 and follows UT-14 east to US-89. Zion's page puts the Highway 20 route at roughly 150 miles and 2.5 hours of driving.

Flying in

Las Vegas and Salt Lake City hold the big airports. The park puts each one about 270 miles out. Smaller airports are in Cedar City, Utah (80 miles) and St. George, Utah (125 miles). Public transportation to Bryce Canyon National Park is not available.

The main road and overlooks

Bryce Canyon has one main 18-mile road that runs north-south through the park. The Bryce Amphitheater sits along the first 3 miles. The park names four overlooks there as the most popular. Sunset Point is one of them. The full length of the road is known as the Southern Scenic Drive and leads to Rainbow Point.

Nearby parks and monuments

Cedar Breaks National Monument's directions list 60 miles from Bryce Canyon National Park, reached on Utah Highway 12, U.S. Highway 89 and Utah Highway 143. The drive from Zion National Park is covered in Zion to Bryce Canyon. The route to Capitol Reef is described in Bryce Canyon to Capitol Reef.

For a wider trip, see the Utah Mighty 5 or the Grand Circle road trip itinerary.

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